On Tuesday, September 15, President Trump appeared on ABC for a town hall in which he responded directly to voters questions prior to the November elections.
In true Trump fashion, the President ran into a few issues responding to questions in a coherent, factual way.
At one point, a Black pastor, Carl Day, stood up and asked Trump a question about his campaign's infamous motto:
"You've coined the phrase Make America Great Again. When has America been great for African-Americans in the ghetto of America? Are you aware of how tone-deaf that comes off to African-American communities?"
"You'll have people choke" -- Trump on police violence pic.twitter.com/q2ql1Cf2AT
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 16, 2020
Presenting with a statistics indicating that Black people are far more likely than Whites to be victims of police violence, Trump quickly changes the topic to polling indicating Black people support having more cops in their communities (He refuses to acknowledge systemic racism) pic.twitter.com/JubzzbUjhf
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 16, 2020
Asked by a Black man to explain when America has every been great for Black people, Trump immediately changes the topic to his polling pic.twitter.com/lxPmy69qn3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 16, 2020
Instead of answering Day's question directly, the President immediately changed the subject, saying:
"Well, I can say this. We have tremendous African-American support. You probably have seen it in the polls. We're doing extremely well with African-American, Hispanic-American, at levels that you've rarely seen a Republican have."
"I hope there's not a race problem" -- Trump on systemic racism pic.twitter.com/B5tezKIkgd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 16, 2020
Day pressed Trump, however, pointing out:
"...you have yet to address and acknowledge that there's been a race problem in America."
@atrupar Whoever on the campaign team let Trump do this, welcome to the resistance.— Hemry, Local Bartender (@Hemry, Local Bartender) 1600219860.0
The President continued to skate around Day's question.
"Well, I hope there's not a race problem. I can tell you, there's none with me, because I have great respect for all races, for everybody. This country is great because of it."
"But when you go back six months and you take a look at what was happening, you can't even compare that with past administrations. When you look at income levels and a lot of things, because of the job situation, where they had the lowest income, the best unemployment numbers they've ever had, the Black community, by far."
@atrupar And then Covid... He’s repeating his same damn lies and can’t even answer a simple question.— Mike (@Mike) 1600219799.0
@atrupar Why can’t he give a direct answer to a direct question?! https://t.co/F55A55F7af— cindy (@cindy) 1600223569.0
@atrupar https://t.co/O2jSV08ZuO— 🧑🏻👩🏻🧑🏻📷 📺 And Now This (@🧑🏻👩🏻🧑🏻📷 📺 And Now This) 1600219943.0
Many viewers admired the pastor for his calm but persistent questioning.
@atrupar This man . . . What courage and what restraint he had. I respect him more than I do so many others afraid to speak truth to power— I_Ate_Your_Carbs (@I_Ate_Your_Carbs) 1600262664.0
@atrupar Wow! #TrumpTownHall tonight was a disaster. Turns out when he can’t interrupt and insult the people asking… https://t.co/w9e7wRUYKI— Bryan (@Bryan) 1600223339.0
@atrupar His "Make America Great Again" slogan has always had a VERY specific implication REGARDING Black people, b… https://t.co/9hw8cvWRdz— Total Clerity (@Total Clerity) 1600251177.0
The United States still has a long way to go when it comes to racial justice, something President Donald Trump is unable or unwilling to admit.
President Trump cares only about people who can help him.
@atrupar I don’t think we can emphasize this enough. Unless you are a person of color with great wealth & could do… https://t.co/6pzBIe2UFu— Cheryl Prevor Psy.D🔥 (@Cheryl Prevor Psy.D🔥) 1600225478.0
@atrupar Watching the black guy's face while Trump tries to snow him is https://t.co/rlazduwlU9— 2022ElectionsAreNowInProgress (@2022ElectionsAreNowInProgress) 1600255586.0
The President's advisors might want to think twice before sending him on television to talk to voters again.
Trying to address the concerns of real Americans outside his base is definitely not one of Trump's strengths.